AGM attendees outside and socially distancing
AGM attendees outside the clubhouse and socially distancing
Photo by Philip Leong VK2APL

12 July saw the Society’s Annual General Meeting at (actually, outside) the clubhouse at Terrey Hills. Luckily, the day was warm and sunny, and rain predicted for early afternoon did not eventuate.

Of course, COVID-19 is still in full swing, so the usual Wednesday night format indoors was not (legally) possible, so the Club decided to try the outdoor format during day, followed by a BYO BBQ, which worked out well. The usual pandemic protocols were observed (sanitiser, wipes, and social distancing, but no masks.)

Dom VK2JNA was delighted to be there!
Photo by Grant Page VK2FGWP

The meeting was well attended, and went smoothly, with few if any changes to the committee and support personnel for the coming year.

Apart from the usual formalities, the main topic of discussion was how the Society would deal with the ongoing pandemic.

Treasurer Richard VK2NRA pondering figures…
Photo by Grant Page VK2FGWP

There had been suggestions recently that it might be safe to return to the normal meting format on Wednesday nights, but the recent infection surge in Victoria, and inevitable “leakage” via interstate travellers, has put paid to that for now. Given that many Amateurs are in a “high risk” demographic, caution is appropriate. MWRS hasn’t lost any members yet to COVID-19, and we don’t intend to start now.

So, for the time being, the Wednesday night nets will continue to replace the face-to-face meetings, though depending on how the pandemic progresses, it may be possible to implement of a roster for a limited number of members each week to come to the clubhouse. Logistics are still to be worked out.

“The Hurricane”, Roger VK2GHB, taking it all in.
Photo by Grant Page VK2FGWP

There was also discussion about how we will manage JOTA in October. It may well be scaled down a bit from last year, but we still intend to go ahead.

Finally, members are being sought to join operate the portable club station in the Trans-Tasman Low Band Contest this Saturday, 18 July; ops will take place from Culburra Beach, some three hours drive south of Sydney.

The really important business of the day: getting the barbie going!
Photo by Grant Page VK2FGWP

Update from Vice President, Mike VK2CT:

We had an excellent AGM and BBQ in the sunshine outdoors at the clubhouse on Sunday. There was a good turnout and most people were re-elected in the same portfolios. Two changes are worth mentioning. Tim VK2BT has taken over fridge duties from Bob VK2RL who has retired after many years. Tim has also taken over as Repeater Officer; he has been doing excellent work in the background trying to understand the interference issues with the 2m repeater. He’s now got the job officially. The repeater has been pivotal in keeping us connected during Covid.

There was a lot of discussion about arrangements for opening up the clubhouse on Wednesday nights. As you will have seen in the email from President Rod, subsequently the Committee decided it was too hard at this stage (particularly with recent Covid spikes) and so for now official club meetings on Wednesday nights will continue to be suspended. We are looking at running lecture nights via Zoom.

Wednesday night 2m nets and Zoom sessions will continue for the foreseeable future.

73 Mike VK2UCT
VP MWRS